Chapter 58

The day before the graduation ceremony, they decided to go to the top of the mountain together to watch the sunrise.

The wind in April was warm but a little chilly. They set out at noon and arrived at the foot of the mountain in about an hour. The tents, sleeping bags, cooking utensils and ingredients for camping were transported up in advance on the cable car, so they could start preparing once they reached the top of the mountain.

According to regulations, students on campus are not allowed to drive. I could explain it as a special case of saving people a few times before, but this time, no one wanted to graduate and be chased and scolded by the instructor, so I rented an SUV obediently.

Kenji Hagiwara was very disappointed that he could not display his superb driving skills, and so was Seiji Kono.

Although he gets carsick regardless of who is driving, he was fortunate enough to have seen Kenji Hagihara's extreme speed racing and was surprised to discover something - it seemed that he was not the only one who got carsick!

Except for Jinpei Matsuda, who was used to racing stunts since childhood, the rest of the people looked more or less dazed after getting off the car.

The usually cheerful Date Kou couldn't laugh anymore, "Hagiwara...be careful not to get caught by your future colleagues in the traffic department."

Hagiwara Kenji happily responded with a wink, "Don't worry, class leader, I will definitely be able to build good relationships with the girls in the transportation department!"

Zhu Fu Jingguang's mouth twitched, "I don't think the squad leader meant that..."

After taking the water handed over by Fūya Rei who also had a helpless smile on his face, Kono Seiryo, who was so exhausted that he could only hold on to the street lamp, suddenly realized a truth - it is better to suffer a short pain than a long one, since he will get motion sickness anyway, he might as well end this pain as quickly as possible!

Therefore, he was probably one of the only two people on this hiking trip who hoped that Kenji Hagihara could drive the car, but unfortunately it did not happen.

But this little regret soon disappeared, and they took Hanako with them for a ride. It was the first time for the little white cat to go on a long trip since it was big, and it squatted on his lap with its front legs stretched out, staring intently at the little birds that occasionally appeared outside the car window with its big, round blue eyes.

Kouno Seira gently held its tail. Hanako was in a good mood, and the tip of its flexible and soft tail was swaying slightly, brushing across her palm like a small brush, making her feel itchy.

His heart almost melted with happiness, and he completely forgot about motion sickness.

The temperature outside was just right, so the group drove with the windows open. The wind, lightly stained with cherry blossom pollen, swirled around, dispersing the noisy chatter and laughter into the distant sky.

The sound of the wind filled his ears and he felt someone patting his shoulder. Gong Ye Shengliang turned his head and met another pair of beautiful blue eyes.

Zhu Fu Jingguang knew that he was prone to motion sickness and asked with concern, "It's probably another forty minutes before we get there. Do you want to get some sleep first?" He spoke a little louder because of the noise inside and outside the car.

Kono Seiryoshi shook his head, his hair was blown a little messy, and his golden irises showed a transparent luster in the sunlight.

"I'm fine," he said, lowering his head and stroking the cat's head on his lap. "Inspector Hanako is also fine."

Fortunately, Hanako is still young and weighs only a little over four pounds, otherwise her legs would have been numb from all the walking.

Gong Ye Shengliang suddenly remembered something, took out a box of candy from his coat pocket, and asked the person next to him: "Mint candy, do you want some?"

Just as Zhufu Jingguang was about to nod, a curly-haired head suddenly appeared in the gap between the two seats and said, "The back row is so crowded, I'll sit with you guys."

"Hey, do you want to change now?"

"Don't bother."

Matsuda Jinpei placed his arms on the backs of the chairs on both sides, moved his upper body forward, and stuck in the middle in an awkward but pretentious relaxed posture.

Kono Seiryoshi couldn't help laughing and asked, "Would you like some candy?"

The curly-haired young man subconsciously opened his mouth to signal him to feed him directly, but he forgot that the car window was still open, and before he could eat the candy, he swallowed a mouthful of wind. The sugar coating on the mint candy melted between his teeth, and the cool feeling rushed straight to his head, and he couldn't help but take another bite.

Hanako jumped into the arms of Morobushi Kagemitsu on the other side, curled up into a ball, opened her mouth and yawned, staring straight at Matsuda Jinpei with her blue eyes, without even a meow, but the latter subtly felt that he was being laughed at.

Matsuda Jinpei put his hand on the cat's head and threatened it with a vicious look: "You little cat, please show some respect to your future owner."

The few of them talked about their plans after graduation. They heard that Kono Seira was going to move out of the dormitory, and naturally they also knew that Matsuda Jinpei was going to help adopt Hanako.

Hagiwara Kenji tried to hold back his laughter: "Xiao Zhenping, in your situation, you can only be a miserable poop shoveler."

The little white cat ignored everyone else and rubbed the back of Morobushi Kagemitsu's hand lovingly, making soft and cute sounds, which made Ida Kou in the front seat unable to resist and touch it.

Seeing this, Fūya Rei, who had been sitting in the back row and had not said much, also smiled a little.

The ice-blue box of mints was held out to him and waved.

"Would you like one?"

The seat was moved forward a little, and the person in front of him tilted his head and asked him, revealing a pair of golden eyes filled with clear sunlight.

Fūya Rei was slightly startled.

He suppressed the worries he had been hiding all the way, returned to his usual self, and responded with a smile.

--

Because the luggage had been transported up ahead of time, they felt light and chatted while climbing the mountain. Before they knew it, they had reached their destination.

After gazing at the scenery from the top of the mountain for a while, the group divided the work clearly and set up the tents, lit the campfire and arranged the cooking utensils.

Hanako was very curious about the leash she was wearing for the first time. She played with it for a long time, but when she got bored she squatted next to Morobushi Kagemitsu to watch him deal with the ingredients he had prepared earlier. She was rewarded with a piece of chicken breast for her well-behaved behavior.

When the sun was about to set, everything was ready and we were just waiting for dinner.

At night, the weather on the top of the mountain was very cold. Fortunately, everyone brought thick coats. We set up a dining table next to the campfire, and the rising steam of sukiyaki and curry and the fragrant aroma greeted us, making us feel refreshed.

The meal was cooked by the best chef, Morofushi Kagemitsu, with the help of Kono Seira. To his shame, his skills in Japanese cuisine were obviously not very useful outdoors, so after chopping the carrots, he could only carve a flower with the remaining ingredients to comfort the hardworking chef, "For you, Kagemitsu."

It was the first time that Morofushi Jingguang received such a gift. After a moment of surprise, a smile appeared in his eyes. He took the carrot flower, paused, and said with his eyes raised, "I will cherish it."

“Ah… Yeah!”

When Gongye Shengliang put the potato cubes into the pot, he thought that his words were a bit strange, but when he thought about it carefully, he felt that it was a way to cherish the food if he didn't waste it, so he nodded secretly and stopped worrying about it.

When the pot was boiling, Hagiwara Kenji couldn't wait to pick up a piece of beef, dip it in the sauce and put it into his mouth. Even though it was burned, he still sighed with satisfaction: "Although it's a seasoning packet I bought directly, it tastes good."

"Zhufu and Gongye, NICE!"

Kono Seira waved his hands and said, "I didn't do anything. It's Jingguang's credit." He poured a drink for each of them, thought for a moment, and said, "Come to my rented apartment next time, and I'll take care of it then."

"Oh! It's a deal!"

Amid the neat cries of "Cheers!", the bright bonfire beside them casts a warm orange glow on every face in their prime. Some are young, some are mature, but without exception they are all smiling. Fate did not give them a smooth past, but they have a bright future and unlimited possibilities.

After dinner, two people were chosen by rock-paper-scissors to clean the table and wash the dishes. The rest of the group either packed their sleeping bags or went to take photos of the night view. One person even went to walk the cat, saying that he wanted to build a relationship with Hanako.

The air on the top of the mountain is very good and the weather is clear. The moon is not very obvious tonight, but the stars hanging in the sky can be clearly seen.

Kono Seira walked from behind to the side of Furuya Rei who seemed to be staring at the stars in a daze. He did not hide his movements. It was not until he sat down that the latter noticed someone approaching. He raised his eyes as if waking up from a dream, "...Yuki?"

Sure enough, you are worried about something.

“Yes.”

Kono Seiryoshi handed him the drink. The can had just been boiled in hot water and felt warm in his hands.

Fūya Rei came back to his senses, took the drink, smiled and said thank you, then held the can of drink in his hand, rubbed the slightly warm aluminum can with his fingertips, and lowered his head in a daze.

Graduation is approaching, and there are only a few things that can make the first in the police academy so worried.

Kono Seiryoshi had more or less noticed this before. After all, when they were chatting about future work, even he could frankly talk about his plans after becoming a police officer, while the person who should have had the clearest attitude had been vague.

Everyone kept silent about this. Sometimes, saying nothing is also an answer.

With the example of the □□ processing team inviting Matsuda and Hagiwara, Zero might have also come into contact with some special organizations in the police force that require confidentiality.

The pineapple juice made him feel hot in his stomach for some reason, and he felt a little dizzy.

Kono Seiryoshi gulped down the last gulp in one go, and suddenly said without thinking, "No matter what, you must protect yourself. I think everyone thinks so, Zero."

The sudden voice was not loud in the dark night, and Fūya Rei's fingers tightened around the aluminum can.

After a long silence, he spoke in a low voice, as if he was suppressing something. His tone was much more vague than usual. "...I heard you say before that you became a police officer just to find someone."

"Yuki, if there is a very slim chance that requires you to give up everything, and the result is likely to be disappointing, will you choose to seize this opportunity?"

Kono Seiryoshi was speechless for a moment - he was stumped by the question.

His life experience is really lacking, and he is not suitable to be a life mentor on such an important issue. Therefore, he can only put himself completely in the specific situation proposed by the other party and try to find his own choice.

Kono Seiryoshi held his breath for a few seconds before he slowly said, "To be honest, I don't want to look for that person anymore."

Next to him, Rei Furuya was very quiet.

Kono Seiryoshi had been pursuing this goal and even enrolled in a police academy that was not suitable for him at all. It was because at that time he felt as if a piece of his soul was missing, and he needed to find that shadow that he didn't know whether it existed or not, and urgently fill it up.

And now, that gap was filled with something else, something that didn't fit, but was warm, and made him wish it could last forever.

Can this be achieved? Is this the answer?

He wasn't sure when he would leave this world.

"I don't know about Zero's problem, but I just need to not regret it."

Kouno Seira breathed a sigh of relief and turned to look at Furuya Rei, "Even if it's only for a moment - this moment is the reason I want to live."

He was only waiting for the other person's reaction, not realizing that his eyes were shining brightly in the darkness.

Jiang Gu Ling's eyes widened and his heartbeat suddenly quickened.

He pursed his lips, trying to hide the strange throbbing, but his true emotions still showed through his eyes, almost bursting out.

Fortunately, the darkness accompanied me and silently blurred the details that could not be expressed in words.

After an unknown amount of time, Furuya Rei finally chuckled and said, "I understand. I will protect myself."

This is in response to the first sentence of Konno Seiryoshi.

He was silent for a few seconds and spoke again: "...It seems we have stayed here too long." The wind on the top of the mountain was getting colder. He didn't mind it, but being exposed to the cold wind for too long was not very friendly to another person with a weak constitution.

Furutani Rei turned around and said, "I'll go back first..." The second half of the sentence stopped abruptly. Seeing that Kono Seiryoshi closed his eyes and was obviously not feeling well, he frowned and whispered, "Yuki? Are you tired?"

In response, a gray head slid onto his shoulder, breathing slowly and evenly.

It doesn't look like a coma, more like... falling asleep.

Fūya Reiichi didn't react at first, but when he realized something, he suddenly felt a little amused.

It's not even nine o'clock yet, are you so tired? Puzzled, he lowered his head and glanced at the cooled can with "Pineapple Beer" written on it.

There is no need for reasoning at all, the truth is right in front of you.

You drank the wrong drink... Furiya Rei laughed, picked the person up gently, and slowly walked back to the tent.